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The Secular Oratory

Secular Oratory

“The Secular Oratory is the characteristic work of the Congregation of the Oratory; begun in a time of need for radical moral reform, it is a community of Christians open to the most modern charitable, pastoral, cultural and recreational initiatives… after having tempered the spirit with prayer and the sacraments.”– Constitutions and General Statutes of the Confederation of the Oratory of St. Philip Neri, 118-119

The Nature and Spirit of the Secular Oratory

How did the Oratory begin? - - With laymen gathered for prayer and spiritual reading, for conversation and recreation, and for the care of those in need.St. Philip was at the heart of the group, of course.Yet how unobtrusive he was!He desired to bring his friends to Christ, not to himself.Christ was to be found in the sacraments, in Holy Scripture, in the lives of the saints and the history of the Church – and also in other people, especially the poor and the sick, to care for whom is to care for Christ. The Oratory was not particularly dramatic or especially demanding.All sorts belonged, drawn simply by their sense that here, from St. Philip, they could learn how to make progress in knowing and loving our Lord.

Those who participate today in the Secular Oratory are among their successors. Keeping Philip’s original way in mind, the Secular Oratory is not so much a formal confraternity or third order as it is an association of all those who wish to serve God under Philip’s gentle guidance. No specific commitment is required, other than the desire to attend when one can and to grow in one’s faith. It is also a special blessing for us to receive St. Philip’s spirit from the hands of the soon to be “Blessed” John Henry Newman. Newman understood that spirit; he knew that in our relations with God and with each other, we must try to leave behind all that is wrong, false and pretentious, so that, in all simplicity, heart can speak to heart.

This is what Saint Philip wants for those who take him as a special patron: simply and intimately, to know Christ. It is the aim of the members of the Secular Oratory, each one as far as he or she can, to seek that knowledge in Saint Philip’s way and Newman’s: in prayer and devotion, through the bonds of Christian friendship and in works of practical charity.

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“Let us concentrate intensely on Christ’s divine love and let us enter deeply into the wound in His side, into the living font of the wisdom of God made man, so as to drown ourselves in Him and not be able to find again the road which leaves Him.” (St. Philip Neri)

These words capture poignantly the desires and hopes of the Daughters of St. Philip Neri who seek like their patron to enter and remain hidden close to the heart of Christ so that enflamed by His Spirit of love their lives may become a sacrifice of praise to God. Reflecting on the difficult situation in which Christ’s Church struggles, they resolve to make their humble contribution to renew the life of the Christian faithful and in particular the priesthood through their dedication to Adoration, Reparation, and Spiritual Motherhood for Priests.

Through these means, the Daughters of St. Philip Neri with humility and joy communicate the gifts of the Holy Spirit which so enlarged the heart of their patron; they bring human and spiritual encouragement, and share intimately in the mission and influence of priests through willing identification with Jesus Christ and participation in the victimhood of the Love.